Career Center

Summary

The Social Worker Program Coordinator is responsible for the oversight administratively and clinically of the Intensive Community Mental Health Recovery (ICMHR) Program for the Northern Branch of VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System located in the Rocky Mountain Regional Medical Center serving complex Veterans living with a serious mental illness in the Aurora - Denver and surrounding community within a 20-mile radius.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.) English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
• Education
• Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
• Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited
• A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work
• Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work
• Licensure
• Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level
• Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Program Coordinator) - GS-13 Experience and Education
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level
• Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in administration - demonstrating progressively more professional competency skills and judgment
• Individual may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship - or equivalent supervised professional experience
• Licensure/Certification
• Individuals assigned as supervisory social workers must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level - and must be able to provide supervision for licensure
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in coordinating and implementing one or more specialty program(s) - across the facility
• Skill in local policy and practice development - procedures - and/or practice guidelines for the program as prescribed by the program handbook or national directive
• Skill in organizing work - setting priorities - meeting multiple deadlines - and evaluating assigned program area(s)
• Ability to collaborate with internal and external partners to further program goals and enhance patient centered care
• Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties including assignment of work to be performed
• performance evaluations
• and selection of staff - training - and recommendation of awards - advancements - and when appropriate - disciplinary action
• Ability to oversee the fiscal matters of the functions supervised (including fund controls - contracts - and equipment expenditures) - forecast resource and equipment needs - and administer the allocated budget
• Knowledge of organizational structure and impact on program operations
• Assignment
• For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• At this grade level - social worker program coordinators oversee the administrative and clinical aspects of a major specialty treatment program - such as - but not limited to: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Substance Abuse Treatment Program - Home-Based Primary Care - Mental Health Intensive Case Management - Caregiver Support Program or Transition and Care Management Program - or a combination of programs located at one facility or multiple divisions of a facility
• They are responsible for coordinating interdisciplinary staffing - work assignments - budget - treatment services provided - and admission criteria for the program
• The program coordinator may or may not have supervisory responsibilities
• They have full responsibility for all phases of service delivery for a major specialty program
• The program coordinator is responsible for the program's resource and fiscal management - monitoring control points developing the annual budget - operating within that budget - and accounting for appropriated funds
• They are administratively responsible for the programming and operations of the program assigned - develop policies and procedures for program operation - and prepare reports and statistics for facility - VISN - and national use
• Program coordinators provide leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development - and continuing education programs for assigned staff
• They initiate and conduct program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports - including productivity
• Program coordinators oversee program operations and evaluations - identifying areas for improvement - gathering relevant data - assessing the data - developing and implementing ideas for improvement - and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts.] Preferred Experience: Preferred clinical experience in working with Veterans living with serious mental illness within the intensive community mental health recovery (ICMHR) or mental health intensive case management programs (MHICM)
• Preferred supervisory experience that includes clinical and business operations
• Alternative experience may include assertive community treatment (ACT) program or share caseload model of care
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13
• Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor - as the position requires sitting - standing and walking
• Travel is required as the incumbent is required to provide daily active outreach in the community which may require traveling long distances
• The emotional demands can be stressful in working with high-risk for suicide veteran population and their families
• A high level of self-awareness is essential
• Work - divided between office and clinical settings - is primarily sedentary
• May require prolonged standing - moderate walking - and manual dexterity
• Requires carrying light items - such as books - files - or laptop computer.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Start - continue - or finish your career here | VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System (youtube.com) Responsible for clinical and administrative aspects of the ICMHR Program for the Northern Region
• Has the responsibility to provide leadership - guidance and supervision to the mental health providers in the ICMHR program including psychologists - social workers - psychiatrists - nurses - peer support staff - trainees of respective disciplines and support staff members in ICMHR Responsible for strategic planning to ensure the provision of ongoing - high-quality services to meet the needs of the Veterans as well as planning - developing - and implementing short- and long-term goals and objectives consistent with the program's strategic plan
• The work requires administrative knowledge of mental health settings as well as understanding of evidenced-base care modalities for those with an SMI diagnosis - the nuances of interdisciplinary team roles and the impact of the Recovery Model (SAMHSA) Monitoring workload and quality of care for all licensed and non-licensed providers in ICMHR
• The incumbent provides direct supervision to Social Work - Peer Support & Psychiatry staff in the RMR ICMHR program
• Providing direct recovery-oriented patient care to Veterans with SMI in the community or in clinic locations within their scope of practice and licensure requirements
• Ensures all Veterans in program are engaged in recovery-oriented treatment planning
• Finding and implementing ways to eliminate or reduce barriers to care - promote team building - and improve business practices
• Collaborating with interdisciplinary referral sources for transitional planning
• Responsible for the identification of qualified candidates for vacant positions - rating of performance appraisals - and ongoing supervision of staff in the program
• Establish guidelines and performance expectations for all supervised staff - which are clearly communicated through the formal employee performance management system
• Evaluate workers' performance
• demonstrate and conduct work performance critiques
• Hears and works to resolve employee's complaints
• Monitors quality of care and productivity of supervisees and addresses way to improve
• Responsible for furthering the goals of equal employment opportunity (EEO) by taking positive steps to assure the accomplishment of affirmative action objective and by adhering to nondiscriminatory employment practices in regard to race - color - religion - sex - and affirmative action for the area under incumbent's supervision
• Implementing programs - policies and procedures to improve the quality of recovery-oriented care and Program goals
• Works as a liaison with all other services to ensure overall clinical and administrative goals are met
• The Program Manager must possess the analytical ability to research - assemble - and compile information and data - evaluate the results against appropriate standards - and recommend corrective action where indicated
• Provides 10% FTE to implementing the VHA Early Psychosis Intervention Coordination (EPIC) program to identify individuals with early psychosis and provide them with guideline concordant services designed to lessen the severity of emerging psychotic disorders
• Develops and implements information systems to track service activities including referrals - inpatient days - patient demographics - utilization and patient satisfaction
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 55758-0 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized